Christmas is just a few days away, and for those of us who have spent a lot of time in the church, there's a clear understanding that Jesus is the reason for this season. In fact, He's the reason for everything. We like to tell people, "Just look to Jesus; He's the answer to it all."

Here's why: Back in the very beginning, God created man and woman and had fellowship with them. Then everything changed. The first humans were tempted by Satan and rebelled against their Creator, and fellowship was broken. What would God do to fix this? He declared His master plan when He told Satan, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15).

I don't have the space to mention every place in the Bible where this promise is repeated, but you can trace it all through the Old Testament and into the New Testament, when Jesus Christ was finally born as the fulfillment of that promise, sent to engage in conflict with Satan, be killed on the cross, and rise again from the dead.

Our bondage was long and hard--as the Christmas carol says, "Long lay the world in sin and error pining"--but Jesus came at just the right time, and our fellowship was restored, paradise regained. As Galatians 4 says, Jesus came "to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" (v. 5). God went to the slave market of sin, saw us in our rotten condition, purchased us, and adopted us as His own sons and daughters.

That's the real reason and purpose for Christmas--redemption. What was lost in Genesis 3 is restored through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This week as you prepare your heart to celebrate His coming, take some time to ponder your own redemption and what it cost: His precious blood poured out in love for you.